Centerville -- Indian Hills wrestling coach Cole Spree hasn't wasted any time in finding a building block for the college's new wrestling program. Spree this week signed Pleasant Valley's Eli Loyd to a letter of intent - the first name on the IHCC roster for next year when wrestling is added to the IHCC athletic offerings.
Loyd was the Class 3A state champion at 138 pounds as a junior while wrestling for Pleasant Valley High School. He will try to make it back-to-back state titles this winter for PVHS before heading to Indian Hills where Spree sees Loyd wrestling at 149 or 157.
"Signing Eli is huge," Spree said. "He's a great wrestler, well-known throughout the state and country and has a magnetic personality. We already have had kids reaching out that were not even on our radar before he signed. He has certainly made a lot of people curious about what we have going on at Indian Hills."
Indian Hills earlier this fall announced the addition of men's and women's wrestling with the program to be based on the IHCC Centerville campus and the first meet in 2020-21.
"We want kids that want to be part of what we are establishing," Spree explained. "Talent is obviously a huge plus, but ultimately the more buy-in we have will equal greater return."